Toy figures have always been the mainstay of toys for young children. There exist figures that walk, crawl and speak in response to a child touching or squeezing various parts of the figure. There is a continual need for new and novel features, particularly, such as having the figure bounce and/or dance when activated.
There is herein described and illustrated a unique animated figure such as a toy tiger that can be programmed to repeatedly move between a standing and sitting position by moving the legs in unison up and down to effectively bounce. In addition to bouncing, the figure is designed so that the legs can be moved in alternate directions while the toy animated figure pivots about its tail to create the effect of a dancing figure.
To accomplish these movements of the toy figure there are provided motor operated assemblies controlled by a switch actuated microprocessor to provide for particular movements of the toy figure""s legs. The legs are pivotally connected to the body portions of the figure. To bring about the bouncing action the legs are moved in unison repeatedly between sitting and standing positions. Specifically, a bi-directional motor driven gear assembly for one of the legs is activated, which leg is interconnected to the other leg by a rod so that when the driven leg is moved upward both legs are moved up in unison and when the motor reverses both legs are moved downward together. When this is repeated it results in a bouncing action for the toy figure. If it is desired to provide a dancing motion for the figure, the motor operated gear assemblies are operated to repeatedly move the legs in opposite directions relative to each other with the result that the figure pivots from side to side about its tail which gives the illusion of a dancing figure.
In order to effectuate a dancing motion of the figure, the center of the rod member interconnecting the two legs is held fixed at an intermediate location to create a pivot point with the result that the driving movement of the driven leg in one direction will result in the movement of the rod about the fixed pivot point to drive the other leg in the opposite direction relative to the driven leg. The figure is provided with a rigid tail portion that sits on the ground and when the legs are repeatedly moved in opposite directions relative to each other, the figure tilts from side to side about the tail portion to effectively create a dancing motion of the figure.
The details of the toy figure comprising applicant""s invention is illustrated and described in detail but in order to better understand the function and interaction of the various components we provide the following general description.
The toy figure is provided with a bi-directional motor actuated gear mechanisms and linkages that are controlled by a battery operated, preprogrammed microprocessor that is signaled by a switch in an arm of the figure. Actuation of the microprocessor operates a motor to drive a gear mechanism to move the legs relative to the body portion. As aforementioned, when the motor is operated in one direction and then in a reverse direction the rod connecting the two legs is moved to move the legs up and down in unison about the body portion. Repeated bi-directional operation of the motor creates the bouncing action.
In order to move the legs in opposite directions to provide the dancing action a second motor operated mechanism is employed to effectuate a different movement of the rod interconnecting the legs. To this end the intermediate portion of the rod is restrained against movement in the vertical plane and secured in its horizontal position. The mid-point of the rod then functions as a pivot point about which the rod moves. Thus, when the driven leg is moved by its associated motor driven gear assembly the rod pivots about the restrained intermediate portion to move the other leg in the opposite direction. Suitable means are provided to limit the movement of the legs. Briefly, the second motor operated mechanism includes a gripping pawl assembly that when actuated the intermediate portion of the rod is held against a stop member to limit the rod to a pivotal movement about the restrained portion.
As an example, the operation of the aforementioned motor, gear and linkage assemblies are effected by a microprocessor to sequence the operation of the figure to give it initially a bouncing effect by repeatedly moving the legs upwardly to seat the figure and then downwardly to have it stand up. The microprocessor can then be sequenced to operate the second motor mechanism whereby the rod connecting the two legs is restrained in an intermediate position so the rod can only move in a horizontal path with the result that when one leg moves the other leg is moved in the opposite direction. Other mechanisms are provided to assist in the standing of the figure, provide a centering action of the rod and to assist in the moving of the legs in opposite directions and for emitting messages through a speaker when desired.